The Other Side

Chapter one 

The beginning

Have you ever heard the saying "the grass is always greener on the other side"? It's not normally true, people just think that way, it's basically a clever way of saying you always want what you can't have. But on Elsie's first day of st gailey's boarding school, she found that expression fit her surroundings perfectly.  

As she was shown round the school grounds, she couldn't help but marvle at the size of the place, and just how old the buildings looked. She felt as if she had taken back in time to the days were girls wore long skirts and teachers beat the children with long wooden canes. She couldnt help but feel oldly out of place in her skinny jeans and t-shirt. But it didn't matter how beautiful the buildings where, she still hated the place. Sure, the school was pretty to look at, but in a gloomy, gothic kind of way that wasn't at all inviting. 

She was barley listening to the girl walking along beside her, who had indroduced herself as Ivy, and already Elsie liked her. She seemed unfazed by her somewhat bland surroundings and bounced around like she didn't have a care in the world. She was about an inch taller than Elsie, who herself had always been known for being quite short. Ivy, despite the cold winter, had a stunning tan that gave the impression she had recently been on holiday, and gorgeous slightly wavy black hair that flowed to just below her shoulders.  

Elsie's own skin had a fair completion, with dead straigh blonde hair to match. She wished she looked more like Ivy, who to her had the looks of an exotic princess. 

The school was for both boys and girls, but they were kept separate during classes, only meeting during meal times and Sunday church. Ivy showed Elsie the schools chapel. Elsie wasn't a particularly religious type of person, she beleaved that god was there and respected that in some ways, but that was about it. She'd only ever been to church once when she had been force by her grandmother to accompany her, and had vowed never to go again. But in comparison to the rest of the school, Elsie couldn't help but think the church looked a bright and safe place, with it's cream stone walls and stain glass windows. 

All in all, the school looked just that, a school. She was shown the dormitorys and class rooms, the dinning hall and the study lounges. It wasn't until they reached the lunch field that things started to get a little strange. It was about midday so it was packed with boys and girls eating their lunches, she could see groups of girls wondering around arm in arm as they gossiped with each other, and a bunch of boys playing football; with their school jumpers and costs marking where the goals were. But the quire thing was, the second half of the field was empty, not a single child in sight. And that wasn't all, it was almost as if someone had placed a giant mirror in the middle of the school. Because as she looked to the end of the field she could see a exact copy of the school on her side. But still, that side was completely deserted. Ivy noticed Elsie staring and a slight dent formed in In-between her eyebrows. 

"strange, isnt it?" she asked "nobody knows why its there, not even the teachers. Nobody's ever been over to the other side of the school, or at least not while i'v been here." the expression on her face made it clear that Ivy was just as confused as Elsie was. They stood there for a few minuets longer, staring at the other side of the school. It just didn't make sense to Elsie. Ivy had said that nobody had ever been on that half of the grounds, but that couldn't be right. If that was the case then the buildings would of been rundown and crumpleing, the plant life over grown and tangled. But this is where our expression comes in, for this was not the case in any shape or form. Instead the buildings were in perfect condition, the windows so clean they shined, the trees and flowers were fuller and brighter and the water of the huge pond that was again identicle to the one on Elsie's side, was more blue than she thought possible. But most importantly, the grass was most defiantly greener.